James Wiggins

James William Wiggins (15 October 1879 – 16 October 1991) was a verified American supercentenarian. He was born in a log cabin in Arkansas to parents William, a Civil War veteran, and Barbara Wiggins. James had 6 other siblings.

On 18 March 1905, he married Mamie Lane. He worked as a farmer. He enlisted in the U.S. Army during both world wars. He later remarried, this time to Molly Hill. At age 100, he was still physically able to chop wood. He became bedridden at age 109, but was still relatively healthy. A newspaper article from November 1989 reported that James was living with his daughter Rosetta in Lee County, Arkansas, since 20 years.

James Wiggins passed away on 16 October 1991, a day after his 112th birthday. He was succeeded as the World's Oldest Man by Frederick Frazier.

Revalidation research

Originally verified as a supercentenarian by the Kestenbaum Study, a rechecking of his case shows that he is absent from his parents’ 1880 census. This suggests either that he was born later than 1879, or that he was living elsewhere at the time (citation needed).